Twenty-one days. That is how long it’s been since I last posted the “weekly” offering and in the words of Sam Cooke… it’s been a long time coming. How Mr. Cooke had a premonition about my three-week absence a good half-century before it would occur is beyond me. I am however touched that he chose to mention DavidDeGea.com in such a seminal piece of music.

Have you ever noticed how fortunate we are in Chicago with team names?

The Bulls and the Black Hawks offer a wonderful intensity (anyone know what’s up with the ridiculously colored tomahawks on the shoulders though?) The White Sox and Cubbies provide respectively a classic ring and deep history (the history of Chicago Cubs). ‘Bears’ is exactly what a hard tackling, cold weather gridiron squad should be called. Even our pro women’s soccer club (I swear it’s real team… remember Ms. Oakes?) has it sorted. The Red Stars in case you were wondering. Alluding to the Chicago flag and a bit of footballing history. Red Star Belgrade is a wonderfully storied European soccer team (see I drop knowledge like Lupe drops rhymes… not as often as most people would like.)

Other cities haven’t been nearly this fortunate; they have to cheer for players dressed like popsicles running about for moronically named teams. Mike Lansu (over at the Chicago Sun-Times) offers me a welcome inundating of images of the most tosh jerseys ever worn (Lansu drops knowledge like R Kelly drops his knickers… often and sometimes to disturbing effect.) And that was the trigger to me deciding to sift through the world of professional sports and come up with the most ridiculous team names brandished across jersey fronts.Holy Inappropriate Names Utah!

There are two million, one hundred thousand, five hundred and sixty two people in Utah. And only two of them are black… and they took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Okay so there are actually eighteen thousand, six hundred and thirteen African-American people in Utah (have to be true that whole dropping knowledge bit)… but that’s still a minuscule number. What I’m saying is the state is really, really white (nothing wrong with that just not you know doesn’t evoke thoughts of Jazz music… if you thought of Kenny G stop reading right now!) So there basketball team must be called the Utah Snow Caps? Salt Lake City Salt Licks?

They’re called the Jazz. That’s right you know the rich musical tradition that grew out of the African-American heritage now brandishes across the chest of team housed in a state that wouldn’t recognize Jazz if it was standing next to Will Smith.

Now I know the team moved from New Orleans in ’79… but it moved to Salt Lake City so why didn’t they change the bloody name?

And then to further confuse the pink cheeked, magic vest-wearers they put mountains behind the “Jazz”… because really where else can you imagine Jazz music emanating out of besides snow covered mountains.

An Apt Alternative: How about the Utah Yodelers? It makes more sense and it would make NBA jersey sales in Stockholm and Vienna sky rocket. And at least the inhabitants of Utah would have heard that manner of music. Also New Orleans is back in the league… Chris Paul plays the game like jazz music… Andrei Kirilenko plays like German Techno Porn.

The Entire Los Angeles Metropolitan Area!The sheer number of things wrong with the monikers of Los Angeles teams could fill volumes, but I’ll try to keep it short. First of there are no Lakes in LA none. I even searched imdb.com and nada, not one actor of repute named ‘Lakes’. And even if there are Lakes in the mid west, where the team relocated from (read: ‘stolen from’… it’s a theme, trust me) what the bloody hell is a ‘Laker’? Is this someone who sails on a lake?

So…I looked it up according to Ms. M Webster a laker is: one associated with a lake; especially: a fish (as a lake trout) living in or taken from a lake. So Kobe is officially a guppy. Which makes sense because he plays in purple and gold the colours of choice of a transvestite Muppet. Laker… I don’t even know her (apologies, I couldn’t resist). It’s just a stupid name.

As is ‘The Clippers’, a team stolen from Buffalo via San Diego and named after something to do with sailing. ‘Clippers’ appropriate isn’t it… because sailing aficionados adore basketball. “By jiminy, Richard Pennyworth III, once we’ve successfully brought this bollard in lets us off to that quaint game of hoop ball with all those tall ethnic fellows… couldn’t imagine a more jovial time my boy. Perhaps we’ll purchase some over priced libations”.

The Dodgers… stolen from Brooklyn, where they dodged trolleys and it made sense. What are they dodging in Los Angeles… Sun Block? That’s three major LA teams which all relocated… has no one there ever played a sport that didn’t involve silicon, Hugh Grant and a hooker?In fact the only appropriately named LA teams are either in Anaheim (Angels is a solid name) or are dreadful and play in Carson (The LA Galaxy… which is an even better name).

A Series of Apt Alternatives: The LA Lakers become the LA A-Listers at which point the team will be reduced to Kobe, Pau Gasol (the only real A-Listers on the team) and Ron Artest to fill the roll of the quirky, Kramer –esque sidekick. Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and the rest will have to switch to the other LA team now called the C-Listers.

Side note: Spell Check thinks ‘Artest’ is ‘Artist’… I actually laughed out loud…just another wonderful example of unintentional irony.

Humping Horses.

They might be the team that won the World Series but that doesn’t make them champions. A class less team named after female horses. I mean that is what a “philly” is, isn’t it?

I mean otherwise it would mean the people of Philadelphia were just really lazy when it came to picking a name… actually do you think laziness is the reason the capital city was taken away from them?

An Asinine Alternative: Considering Jimmy Rollins looks like a horse and is a horse’s ass… could we perhaps call them the Philly Nags from now on? Please?

It’s So Cold in the D! I know it’s insensitive to bring up the fact that the current economic woes in these United States have led to many factories being shut down, but the car manufacturers in Detroit were nose-diving well before that. Why you ask? Maybe because “Yes, I’d love my giant car with a soft serve dispenser in the back… efficiency is for queers and commies!”

So it’s actually more than insensitive to name the team from Detroit after a car part they will no longer manufacture there… it’s borderline cruel. It’s like naming the Ethiopian national team “the three course meals”.

A Compassionate Alternative: The Detroit Daffodils. Think about it, what cheers people up? Daffodils! “Look I’m sorry your job is lost because Toyota knows how to make a car that doesn’t piss petrol, but look happy sunny daffodils.” Everyone will be happy, and you know I’m correct because William Wordsworth agrees with me. “And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.” Then they realize that Ben Gordon can’t pass or play defense and they’re all overcoming depression again. And not to pile on… but we’ve got Common and Detroit has these people.

Jumpin’ Joisey!

I actually don’t have a problem with the New Jersey Nets, they’ve gathered a nice young core and my time in Leonia leaves me with a Jersey soft spot (which is incidentally also the name for an STD…) Nothing wrong with calling your basketball team the Nets; it’s just the alternative is so much better.

Amazingly Apt Alternative: They sort all of the legal ramblings out with the borough of Brooklyn build a stadium right quick and move out of the Meadow Lands. Land LeBron in the free agent sweep stakes in 2015 and surround him with their young core (they’ve got plenty of cap space.) You’re looking at a starting five of Lopez, Harris, Alsten, Yi and James with Courtney Lee coming of the bench. Lee is ridiculously underrated as a defender. It’s obvious LeBron does better with this lot, who will all improve playing with him, than he does with the hapless Knicks. Now you send them out every night with Jay Z belting through the stadium (he has to put on a live show for every home game of the inaugural season) and the announcer screams out…drum roll please…drrrrr…just build the anticipation…. “

Let’s put it out there: besides the dentist, nobody likes to go there (and we’re sure any dentist sure has his/her day…). Maybe not all of us are scared, but it’s sure, that most of us don’t go gladly to the dentist.

We don’t know for sure why we feel discomfort (to say the least). Either it’s the specific smell, or it’s the noise (even though, with the technology nowadays, all those tools aren’t that loud anymore), either it’s the flexible, long needles (that go through the smallest holes…)…Or maybe it’s simply a universal fear that comes from our ancestors that had to really live (anesthetic what?) through the whole experience…All things considered, it’s quite obvious: going to the dentist is no picnic. Ask Dentist Bacau if you don’t believe it.

Happily for you, we feel you and we came up with a list (no, it’s not a very long list) that may give you some help for your next appointment to the dentist. Sure, it’s not gonna melt down all that fear (but we can point you to a good therapist, if that’s the case for you), but…it’s definitely not gonna hurt to give it a read.

Number one…make an appointment!

Yes, don’t lough, but some even don’t have the guts and keep on postponing the moment. Once you call your dentist and make an appointment, you get one step closer to actually going. However, this, of course, doesn’t mean that you can’t cancel it. Nevertheless, don’t! It’s not nice for your dentist to have an empty time slot and… why do you want to procrastinate so much?

Number two…don’t go through the fridge before

Ok, if you are planned for a big intervention when you’re not supposed to eat afterwards for several hours, it’s better that you do eat something. Try though to eat something less spicy and not rich flavored. No matter how much you brush, garlic doesn’t go away that easily. In addition, you do want your dentist to be in a good mood.

Additionally, if you know the dentist is gonna use anesthetic (he/she’s gonna inform you anyway), don’t have coffee 4 hours before the appointment. We know, it’s a struggle for all of us.

Brush your teeth…?

No matter how much we say it, it’s never enough said: brush your teeth and floss before going to the dentist. Don’t get over the top with flossing (you don’t want to add a bleeding to your list of dental issues) and do it as you do it any day (assuming you do it!)

Even though your dentist is wearing eyeglasses, it helps him/her to better see what’s going on with your teeth/gums (he doesn’t have hyperactive vision as a super power, you know!)

Number four…do you have kids?

If it’s a first for your kid…May the Gods be in your favor! No, really, it’s important to tell them what will happen in there (in a nice, calm way?) and…why not promise them a reward for good behavior afterwards? It had better not be a candy bar, though (you don’t want to take your kid to the dentist very often, right?)

It also helps to create a nice routine with your kid before going to the dentist (the miracle of a walk in the park!) and you want him to be in a good mood when sitting in that chair.

Number five…say “Cheese!”

What better way to show your dentist than to show your teeth when smiling? Of course, you don’t want to overdo it (you want him in a nice mood, not to be freaked out).

In addition, if you see him smiling back…chances are everything is going to be ok in the end. Until next appointment, anyways!

I have a small home in Milan, Italy that I use whenever I am on holiday there. I often rent it out to others when I am not using it. Because I am not at this house very often, it is difficult to keep it in top condition. Last summer, I spent a month in this house in order to have some improvements done to it. One of the first things that I did was to get the house painted inside and outside.

The problem was that I did not know any professional house painters, or imbianchino there. I did not want to hire just anyone who can use a paint brush because I know that painting requires knowledge and skill. I wanted someone who had a lot of experience and who could do a high quality job.

I decided to use the Internet to help me find the best house painter. I had come across websites that provided ratings and reviews on service providers. All I had to do was to specify the city and the type of service that I was looking for, and I received a list of results with ratings.

By using this process, I was able to find a few house painters who had received wonderful reviews. Once I arrived in Milan, I contacted them to schedule an appointment so that each one could come and look at my house and give me a cost estimate. I wanted someone who could start the job right away because I wanted the painting completed while I was still there.

Each painter who came was very courteous. I received very reasonable cost estimates. In the end, I chose someone who had painted many homes in this region, including one down the road from my place that he painted last year. So, I decided to hire him. He helped me in selecting the exterior and interior paints. I wanted the windows and door trims to have a nice contrasting color from the rest of the house, and the painter was able to help me choose the right colors.

On the day of the job, the painter worked efficiently. He was very careful in preparing his work area so that adjacent areas were protected from paint. He covered up the floor and the furniture. He had to remove some of the paint from the house that was chipping, and he prepped the sides of the house very well so that the new paint would go on well. I was very impressed with his skill.

The job took a couple of days because I had the outside and inside painted. After the job was done, he cleaned up his work area thoroughly. I did not see any stray paint on the ground or anywhere else that paint might have dripped. Overall, the painter did a wonderful job – one of the best that I have seen. My old house now looks new and beautiful again, and all because I got the best painter in Milan for the job.